http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf0m3n9804 No online items Guide to the Waterman family papers, 1839-1906 Processed by The Bancroft Library staff The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Additional Form Available: This finding aid has been filmed for the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (Chadwyck-Healey Inc.). Note History --History, CaliforniaGeographical (By Place) --California Guide to the Waterman family BANC MSS C-B 491 1 papers, 1839-1906 Guide to the Waterman Family Papers, 1839-1906 Collection number: BANC MSS C-B 491 The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: The Bancroft Library staff Date Completed: ca. 1955-1956 Encoded by: James Lake © 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Waterman Family Papers, Date (inclusive): 1839-1906 Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 491 Creator: Waterman family Extent: Number of containers: 14 cartons, 17 boxes, 4 volumes and 3 oversize foldersLinear feet: 28 Repository: The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Abstract: Papers of Robert W. Waterman, governor of California, 1887-1891, his wife Jane, and their six children. Included are letters, diaries, legal and financial records, account books, speeches and clippings. Some papers relate to his governorship and to politics. Letters written by him in the 1850s cover his journey to California and experiences in the mines. The bulk of the papers, however, relate to the family's business interests--mines, railroads, ranch and dairy, and cattle breeding. Languages Represented: English Access Collection is open for research. Guide to the Waterman family BANC MSS C-B 491 2 papers, 1839-1906 Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Waterman family papers, BANC MSS C-B 491, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Material Cataloged Separately Photographs transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library ( Identifier/Call Number: BANC PIC 1905.94221-.04377--PIC and Identifier/Call Number: BANC PIC 1905.04563-.04569--PIC ) Drawings transferred and shelved as Identifier/Call Number: BANC PIC 1953.010--AX Biography Robert Whitney Waterman was born in Herkimer County, New York, December 15, 1826. In 1839 he moved to Illinois and worked as a clerk in a general store. By 1847, the year of his marriage to Jane Gardner, he owned his own store at Belvidere. On March 20, 1850, Waterman started overland for California. He bought passage on a wagon train at St. Louis, left St. Joseph on May 8, and reached Sacramento on September 7. His mining activities were confined to Butte County -Stringtown, Wild Yankee Ranch and Bidwell Bar. In addition to mining, he and several Illinois friends kept a boarding house on the North Fork of the Feather River. In the fall of 1851, he returned to Illinois. Shortly after his return, Waterman moved to Wilmington, where he opened a general store. He remained there until the spring of 1873, when he went again to California for his health and to locate a home for his family. For a time he traveled along the coast as an agricultural machinery salesman for Baker & Hamilton, and in September he went east to bring his family to California. In August 1874, they settled near San Bernardino on a ranch which Waterman purchased. He continued in the employ of Baker & Hamilton (until about 1877) while developing his ranch, Waterman's Hot Springs. From 1880 to 1886, Waterman and his mining partner, John L. Porter, discovered and developed a number of gold and silver mines near Barstow, including the Alpha, Omega, Front, and Silver Glance mines. In 1886 Waterman took possession of the Stonewall Mine, San Diego County, and a large portion of the Cuyamaca Rancho on which it was located. In the same year he established a dairy on his ranch near San Bernardino and began breeding holstein cattle. He was also elected president of the San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway Company. The Republican Party in 1886 nominated Waterman for Lieutenant Governor of California; he was one of the few Republicans who won office that year. On the death of Governor Washington Bartlett in September 1887, Waterman became governor and served the remainder of the term. Refusing the nomination for a second term, Waterman moved to San Diego and returned to his mining, railroad and other interests. He died on April 12, 1891. Several of Waterman's children were active in the family business, particularly while Waterman was governor. Mary Pamelia (Waterman) Rice managed the ranch and dairy at San Bernardino from 1886 to about 1892. Waldo Sprague Waterman, who was graduated from the University of California in 1886 with a degree in mining engineering, served as superintendent of the Stonewall Mine from 1886, and from 1890 was general manager of the San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway Company. Two of the children took up medical careers. James Sears Waterman, who first managed his father's mines near Barstow from 1881 to 1886, then studied medicine in New York and became a noted physician and surgeon. Helen Jane Waterman became a physician and practiced for many years in Berkeley and San Francisco. Scope and Content The Waterman papers were preserved by Irving Murray Scott, Jr., Robert W. Waterman's son-in-law, and were given to The Bancroft Library by Mr. Scott's nephew, C. Emlen Scott in 1952 with additions in 1953 and 1955. Some of the papers relate to Waterman's governorship, but the bulk of the material concerns the family and business interests. Early letters from Waterman to his family describe his overland journey to California and experiences in the Northern Mines. There are also Guide to the Waterman family BANC MSS C-B 491 3 papers, 1839-1906 letters from miner friends written to Waterman after his return to Illinois. A key to arrangement follows. Papers of Robert Whitney Waterman Boxes 1-15 Letters written to Waterman, 1839-1891 Additional Note Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization. A single letter miscellany precedes each letter of the alphabet. Many letters relate only to family activities, others to family business interests, including mines in San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, the Waterman Ranch and Holstein Dairy, and Railroads --particularly the San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway Company. Some letters relate to Waterman's political career. Unidentified letters are in a folder at the end. A partial list of correspondents follows the key to arrangement. Box 1 A Misc. - Bh Box 2 Bi - Brown, Ebenezer G. Box 3 Brown, John - Coq Box 4 Cor - G Misc. Box 5 Ga - Hoo Box 6 Hop - Lim Box 7 Lin - Mh Box 8 Mi - Poo Box 9 Por - S Misc. Box 10 Sa - Sg Box 11 Sh - V Box 12 W Misc. - Waterman, Helen J. Box 13 Waterman, James S. - Waterman, Theodore F. Box 14 Waterman, Waldo S. Box 15 Waterman, Waldo S. - Z Boxes 16-17 Letters written by Waterman, 1848-1891 Additional Note Mainly originals addressed to members of his family. Arranged chronologically. Letters dated 1850-1852 were written on the journey to California and from the northern mines. Some relate to business and politics; many are partially or entirely concerned with family activities. Box 16 1848 -1887 Box 17 1888 -1891 Box 17 Papers relating to his term as governor Additional Note Included are oath of office, speeches, proclamations, and items relating to legislative bills. Personalia Additional Note Includes biographies, letters of introduction and recommendation, passes (Civil War), and demits. Miscellany Additional Note Includes illustrated price list of wagons sold by Waterman. Guide to the Waterman family BANC MSS C-B 491 4 papers, 1839-1906 Papers of Robert Whitney Waterman Ctn. 1 Diaries, 1869-1890 Additional Note Contain information on his move to California in 1873, travels as machinery salesman for Baker & Hamilton, Waterman's Hot Springs near San Bernardino, prospecting trips, mines, law suits, railroads, and political activities. There are no volumes for 1870 through 1873, and 1889. Diary entries for 1865 through 1869 are in Account Book, v. 7; diary entries for 1872-1873 are in Account Book, v. 4. Guest Book, Waterman's Hot Springs, San Bernardino, Calif., 1875-1880 Account Books, 1852-1891 Additional Note Accounts from 1852 to 1873 are for Waterman's store in Illinois. Accounts from 1873 relate mainly to mining operations. v. 1, 1852-1856, 1862, 1869 v. 2. 1857-1859, 1870-1871. Also includes account of prospecting trip, 1877 (p. 335) v. 3, 1856-1863 (Standing separately on shelf.) v. 4, 1852-1861. Also contains family birth and death dates, and diary for 1872-1873 (Standing separately on shelf.) v. 5, 1857-1859 (Standing separately on shelf.) v. 6, 1858-1860 (Standing separately on shelf.) v.